Friday, October 12, 2012

How We Came to BFE. Part I

“I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and danger from false brothers.” 2 Corinthians 11:26

Urbania USA. Their Ain't No Pot-O-Gold!

HAS IT BEEN 2 YEARS ALREADY?

It’s that time of year again. The first Saturday of October for the past two years, the owners “fly home” to see their family and to inspect THEIR property (aka: BFE). It may be “their property,” but it’s “my home” and lucky for us the owners see it that way too! I can’t help but think to myself that when they come for their annual visit (and spend hours ‘chatting’) that they are glad to have renters who love this place as much as they used to when they were younger. Not that they are “old”, but it’s just that they are a tad older that us.

IN THE BEGINNING:

Two years ago after only being married for a little over a year, my husband and I decided that we no longer wanted to live “in the city”. We had lived in "Urbania USA” all our lives in one way shape or form. Always within several miles from a grocery store or gas station, and usually within several hundred feet (10-20 feet in most subdivisions) of our neighbors. Now this was great when we were raising our children because we could open the front door and say “go play” and they would be gone for hours at a time. (and YES.... neighborhoods like THAT still existed 10 years ago, and may still for as much as I know in Idaho.) But in a very short period of time we saw some of those neighborhoods who were clean and alive with ‘play’ became dirty and lifeless.

THE CHANGE:

When the housing bubble burst in 2008, a lot of homes in the subdivision became vacant and fell into disarray. Graffiti began to appear on the fences and sidewalks and there was a drug busts just down the street. “TIME TO HEAD FOR HIGHER GROUND!” my husband announced. And so the search began: To relocate “some place else.”

THE SEARCH:

As the dutiful wife (not always, but this was an area of which I seem to have excelled in my life... I’ve moved over 40x - and finding new places to live is like finding a new store to go shopping in... always adventurous!)

I began an internet search of rental properties close to where we were currently resided and spread out from there. (at this point you are probably wondering ‘why rent?’ when “You own your own home, right?!” Well thats another story for another day... I can’t get sidetracked now.... “sidetrack” is my middle name... which is better than “I want.” A title given to me in my younger years.) OK... where was I: Yea... I was house hunting.

THE REQUST:

My parameters were very clear: House, Garage, at least 3 bedroom, NOT in a subdivision, preferably “out of the way”, “off the beaten path”, with some flat property to grow a garden. All of this for the wonderful monthly rental fee of....... well not much. After further research.... for about as much as you could rent a two bedroom apartment in town. Not very promising, right?

THE DISMAY:

Our prospects of finding a house in this price range was almost null. I began to loose any hope of finding a way to exodus our situation. At the end of each day the hubby would ask me to share the results of my daily search. We had both become discouraged about our prospects. Things I liked about a place, he didn’t like and visa-versa. We had only ventured out once before to look at a rental property and it was a ‘shared space’ which did not appeal to either of us. I was feeling defeated and trapped by our circumstances. It seemed as though we were “trapped in Urbania!”

Dunt Dun Daaaa.....

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Daisy Mae Wants to Know: What was the catalyst that caused you and your family to want to relocate to BFE?

Maybe you know someone else who has “lost their mind” and “move to BFE”.

Please share what you think their reasons could have been. What is your opinion of their ‘move’?

2 comments:

The catalyst that moved us out here was the first week our C was born, a punk kid drove crazy down our street (we lived right behind an Albertsons and next to a school so it was a pretty hoppin' area) anyways, the crazy drivers made us want to run after them yelling at them to slow down... We may have called the cops on them. Anyways, we wanted a safe place for the kids. So we moved here where I started then fearing for their lives from badgers, snakes, and insects of unusual size. ;)

Yes I understand the "badgers, snakes, and insects of unusual size" (OH MY!) comment! And as I recall a day recently, I was leaving your house and saw a coyote trotting across the gully in front of your house. But you have dogs (right?), and as long as you have them around… they will secure your perimeter and the larger animals should stay away. You've prepared yourself well and your backyard is fully fenced. Besides, I think (someone please correct the city girl if I am wrong) they are more scared of us, than we are of them.

(BUT STILL!!!!! It's unnerving!!!!)

I like the idea that if I feel threatened by an animal on my own property… I can shoot it. This would not work as well if we lived in the city and felt threatened. I think there would be a lot more things to take into consideration before shooting the local inhabitants.